I can’t resist trying to invent whimsical names for these muffins. Many of the recipes I stumble upon in the Internet, call it like it is, naming the muffin by listing the ingredients… and I guess that this is the most practical way to name a muffin. Meh, I’ve never been known for being practical.

(These muffins are peanut-free)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup raw sugar, Sucanat, or 1/2 cup agave

1 tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup creamy sunflower butter

2/3 cup plus 2 tbs. almond milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

1/2 cup cranberries

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar (do not mix in agave here, if you are using it in place of the sugar), baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the sunflower butter, almond milk, agave (if you’re using it here) and vanilla.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the quinoa, cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Along with the garden at the Playhaus, we’ve also been sprouting! The sunflower greens have been a hit with the kids, they enjoy the instant gratification of picking the greens and eating them right away (who doesn’t?!). Alfalfa sprouts expand far more than I could have imagined, and so we find ourselves with a large quantity of sprouts…. a delicious predicament! I’ve found a recipe for Sprout-Slaw, and we’ll be trying it out next week.

You will need:

2-4 cups Alfalfa Sprouts

1/2 cup chopped pineapple

1/2 cup green grapes, halfed

1/2 cup yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine sprouts and fruit in a large bowl. Mix other ingredients in a bowl, then stir in the dressing with the sprouts and fruit. Toss to blend. Enjoy!

One of my favourite things about warm weather is eating outside. Nothing beats a Playhaus picnic at the park. For this reason, I’m looking through my recipe books for more portable food, and I remembered this recipe. It’s taken from the Rebar Cookbook (a wonderful restaurant in Victoria, British Columbia). This is a pesto intended for soups, but with this warm weather, we’ve put it into a pasta salad. Enjoy!

1 bunch Italian parsley, stemmed

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup grated romano cheese

All ingredients will be added into a blender, the key is to add them slowly so that the puree is not overwhelmingly thick for the blender. Start with parsley, puree. Add the olive oil, and garlic, then the almonds. You may need to stir the mixture between pulses of the blender while adding cheese. It’s that simple! Enjoy this pesto on sandwiches, stirred into soup, or mixed in with noodles. And of course, this recipe is best enjoyed at a picnic!!